Honestly I wouldn't hold my breath - the D80 had optional GPS too, you just had to get a hotshoe attachment from Sony. And it's not like Nikon to release 2 different D90 bodies.
Live View isn't the kind of feature you find in a prosumer DSLR like the D80. HDMI makes a little more sense considering the D80 had a composite video out, but I don't even want to think about the space/power/etc. requirements for that even if there was a dongle (which oh by the way is lame).
GPS is a nice feature though, so honestly all Nikon has to do to make a D90 is offer better ISO performance, add GPS for geotagging (hopefully not at the expense of too much battery life), and dust reduction systems a la the D60. 12 MP encroaches on D300 territory.
The Canon Rebel XSi and XS both have Live View, and they're price a little lower. Sony seems to be pushing Live View pretty hard, too, so I imagine they'd put it in just to get another plus mark in a review.
I still fail to see why Live View is such a compelling feature in, of all things, a DSLR.
Even an extremely high resolution LCD on the back of the computer still doesn't convey the same visual depth of information (even focus) as well as a real viewfinder has. Sure, you can zoom to 1:1 to see if you're focused, but that's cumbersome considering you have real optics and real glass a half inch away.
Eh, I don't have a DLSR with the capability, but I guess I could see it being useful on a tripod. Besides that one Sony, all the current SLR Live View modes work by contrast detection for focus, which is way, way slower than the normal phase detection system, so it'd not useful.
I hope that the manufacturer don't rush headlong into Live View while neglecting viewfinders. It sucks trying to use a rear LCD outside, and electronic viewfinders are nowhere near ready. And they consume power, whereas glass and mirrors work instantly, with no power needed.
Actually that's not completely true Perardi. Most badly implemented Live View systems do use contrast detection, and do suck. But the good ones (D300 and D3 to my knowledge, probably others) have a settable option to pause the live view when the shutter release is half-pressed for the mirror to come down, focus using the traditional sensor, take the shot, and restore the live view. This takes only a split second (similar to the blackouts during a high speed series with 'confirm focus before shutter release' set) - not long!
Personally, I have no use for such a feature since I only shoot in the field, but I see how some people might have a use for it.
Also, we're talking about a Nikon here. Nikon finders are pretty much the best in the business; I'm not sure where you are going with that comment, but throughout each D-series of digital SLRs the finders have only improved. I fully expect the eventual D90's finder to be equal or better than the D80's.
Sony's Alpha 700 has hdmi output already so that's nothing that brings any issues. I assume whatever video is fetched of a second sensor and the live view is in the same fashion as the Sony Alpha 300 / 350.
But I'm not sure if it is real or just someones imagination before Nikon put out a press release.
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Honestly I wouldn't hold my breath - the D80 had optional GPS too, you just had to get a hotshoe attachment from Sony. And it's not like Nikon to release 2 different D90 bodies.
Live View isn't the kind of feature you find in a prosumer DSLR like the D80. HDMI makes a little more sense considering the D80 had a composite video out, but I don't even want to think about the space/power/etc. requirements for that even if there was a dongle (which oh by the way is lame).
GPS is a nice feature though, so honestly all Nikon has to do to make a D90 is offer better ISO performance, add GPS for geotagging (hopefully not at the expense of too much battery life), and dust reduction systems a la the D60. 12 MP encroaches on D300 territory.
The Canon Rebel XSi and XS both have Live View, and they're price a little lower. Sony seems to be pushing Live View pretty hard, too, so I imagine they'd put it in just to get another plus mark in a review.
I still fail to see why Live View is such a compelling feature in, of all things, a DSLR.
Even an extremely high resolution LCD on the back of the computer still doesn't convey the same visual depth of information (even focus) as well as a real viewfinder has. Sure, you can zoom to 1:1 to see if you're focused, but that's cumbersome considering you have real optics and real glass a half inch away.
Eh, I don't have a DLSR with the capability, but I guess I could see it being useful on a tripod. Besides that one Sony, all the current SLR Live View modes work by contrast detection for focus, which is way, way slower than the normal phase detection system, so it'd not useful.
I hope that the manufacturer don't rush headlong into Live View while neglecting viewfinders. It sucks trying to use a rear LCD outside, and electronic viewfinders are nowhere near ready. And they consume power, whereas glass and mirrors work instantly, with no power needed.
Actually that's not completely true Perardi. Most badly implemented Live View systems do use contrast detection, and do suck. But the good ones (D300 and D3 to my knowledge, probably others) have a settable option to pause the live view when the shutter release is half-pressed for the mirror to come down, focus using the traditional sensor, take the shot, and restore the live view. This takes only a split second (similar to the blackouts during a high speed series with 'confirm focus before shutter release' set) - not long!
Personally, I have no use for such a feature since I only shoot in the field, but I see how some people might have a use for it.
Also, we're talking about a Nikon here. Nikon finders are pretty much the best in the business; I'm not sure where you are going with that comment, but throughout each D-series of digital SLRs the finders have only improved. I fully expect the eventual D90's finder to be equal or better than the D80's.
Sony's Alpha 700 has hdmi output already so that's nothing that brings any issues. I assume whatever video is fetched of a second sensor and the live view is in the same fashion as the Sony Alpha 300 / 350.
But I'm not sure if it is real or just someones imagination before Nikon put out a press release.